OSPI School Facilities & Organization

School Facilities & Organization administers the Capital Budget, the School Construction Assistance Program, and a number of other programs. The School Construction Assistance Program is OSPI’s largest capital program and provides funding assistance for facility planning, new construction and modernizations.

Association for Learning Environments (A4LE)

Established in 1921, and previously known as CEFPI, A4LE is a worldwide professional 501 (c)(3) non-profit association whose sole mission is improving the places where children learn. Members, individuals, institutions and corporations are actively involved in planning, designing, building, equipping and maintaining schools and colleges.

Washington Sustainable Schools Protocol (WSSP)

The Edmonds School District participates in the High -Performance School Buildings Program and uses the WSSP method.

State-funded school construction projects greater than 5,000 square feet are required by Chapter 39.35 RCW – High Performance Public Buildings to incorporate high-performance features into their school design and construction.

School districts can use either Washington Sustainable Schools Protocol (WSSP) or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). WSSP is modeled after the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) green building protocol and adapted to reflect characteristics that optimize high performance in Washington schools. WSSP is a self-certifying standard developed to help school districts comply with the goals of the law.

It is a planning tool that allows designers to plan a high-performance school while considering the regional, district, and site-specific possibilities and constraints for each project. The categories in the protocol include those related to Site, Water, Materials, Energy, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Planning and Operations.